SLC to create women’s teams affiliated with top First-Class clubs

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is looking to create women’s teams which will be affiliated with top First-Class clubs. It is understood that the board is intending to build at least 10-12 such women’s teams that will have associations with the premier clubs, however, no official timeline is in place. 

Shammi Silva, SLC President, confirmed that the board is in talks with certain First-Class clubs and will have women’s teams in the forthcoming domestic competition.

 "The top clubs in Sri Lanka such as SSC, NCC, CC and Tamil Union will start fielding women's teams in the upcoming domestic competitions," SLC President Shammi Silva said at a media briefing on Tuesday as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

However, Chinthaka Edirimanne, Head of National Cricket Operations at SLC, stated that the talks are in the early stages and the decision is could be taken soon.

"We have spoken to several Major League clubs, and we're hoping to hear back from the clubs in about two weeks," he said.

At present, the women’s domestic cricket in the nation consists of the Division One Tournament, a limited-overs contest which includes eight teams taking part. However, the SLC hopes to add 10-12 more teams in the forthcoming editions of the domestic competition.

Meanwhile, the Major League tournament, Sri Lanka's top domestic first-class structure, includes as many as 26 teams. In the event that a new set of teams are introduced, the growth would surely benefit the women’s national team in the coming years.

Earlier, the SLC also announced that the women’s cricket team players would earn the same match fee as their male counterparts. Speaking about the national team, Sri Lanka Women will play England in a three-match T20I series scheduled to begin on August 31. Chamari Athapaththu and Co. will head to their next assignment on the back of a series loss, 2-1 against New Zealand at home in the T20Is.